Nationalist MP Stephen Spiteri has defended his dismal record of attendance in Parliament, saying he is kept busy with his roles as doctor, MP and parliamentary assistant.

He also claims some MPs just attend Parliament, mark themselves as present, and leave.

“You are making the mistake of checking who is attending, not how much time they spend there or what they are contributing,” he said after The Sunday Times revealed he missed 81 per cent of sittings since January.

“I cannot afford to climb all those stairs (the Palace staircase leading to the House of Representatives) just for two minutes to say ‘hello’ and leave. During that time I can do more important things: be it politics, my medical profession or other things.”

He said he was an extremely busy doctor and since most of his tasks as a parliamentary assistant to the Family Ministry were carried out in the morning, he must attend his clinic in the evenings, when Parliament meets.

Dr Spiteri also pointed out that Maltese MPs were part-timers and had conditions which required them to hold other jobs.

He said that he planned to sacrifice more of his day job to his parliamentary duties when he learnt that MPs were going to be getting a substantial pay rise last year.

“But considering the present pay - and people are not realising this - I can’t sustain myself with those amounts,” he said, even though he conceded that the timing of the raise, which did not happen following public outrage, may not have been right.

Asked what his role entailed as a parliamentary assistant, Dr Spiteri said: “I do a lot of work. If you see the media, it shows how much I am doing. I attend many events and functions on the minister’s behalf... opening conferences, attending discussions. I liaise with the private secretary and the staff of the ministry.”

However, he stressed, his assistance was not parliamentary in nature, as some may have thought.

Dr Spiteri’s behaviour was highlighted by Nationalist backbencher Jean-Pierre Farrugia in Parliament on Friday, although Dr Farrugia did not name the parliamentary assistant. Asked if he thought Dr Farrugia had ulterior motives, Dr Spiteri said: “I think when someone puts these things in the public eye, they should be responsible for what they are saying.

And you cannot pick on something small, like the parliamentary attendance, and not see, holistically, what the MP is doing.

“People think that as an MP your job is just the few hours a week in Parliament, but there’s more work to do. You serve your constituents not only on the benches of Parliament.”

Asked whether Dr Farrugia, also a doctor, could use his own medical profession as an excuse not to attend Parliament, Dr Spiteri said: “It depends on your kind of practice. My practice is exploding with work. I have a waiting time of two hours.”

Asked if he should have accepted this new role with such a time-consuming job, Dr Spiteri said this was the beginning of his political career. He pointed out that some former ministers has ended up in dire straits because they had to give up their careers, so he did not think he should give up his career just yet.

“If I am given a stronger role in politics I would definitely choose what to do with my life and I have my options already ready.”

Meanwhile, Family and Education Minister Dolores Cristina, who is the minister Dr Spiteri is attached to, described him as an important asset who was fazed by nothing and always willing to replace her at events at short notice.

Asked if missing 80 per cent of parliamentary sittings reflected badly on him as an MP, Ms Cristina said:

“He’s assiduous as a parliamentary assistant but I think you have to separate the two roles. He’s one of the MPs who really looks after people and I’m told he has an excellent bedside manner and people feel good just being around him. But, as a general comment, MPs should be present as much as possible in Parliament.”

According to the information obtained by The Times, parliamentary assistant Peter Micallef missed 70 per cent of sittings. He could not be contacted yesterday. Robert Arrigo and Philip Mifsud also missed more than a quarter of sittings. The other five assistants had much better attendance rates. These Nationalist MPs were appointed as parliamentary assistants and linked to particular ministers last year amid disgruntlement on the PN’s backbench. They earn some €6,000 more than ordinary MPs who are paid €19,100.